HowlRound hosts virtual climate change talk

HowlRound, a commons by and for people who make performance, announces Theatre in the Age of Climate Change, a weeklong series of writings from artists and activists throughout the globe, curated by Chantal Bilodeau.

The weeklong series will appear on howlround.com and runs April 19–26, celebrating Earth Day 2015.

HowlRound’s Weekly Howl, a peer-produced, open-access discussion about theater culture and contemporary performance that happens in real time on Twitter using the hashtag #howlround, will also focus on climate change on Thursday, April 23, 2:00–3:00 pm EST.

“This series is important,” said HowlRound Director Polly Carl, “because the climate is in crisis and artists have a key role to play in catalyzing massive change. It is time for artists to take action.”

Participating artists:

Chantal Bilodeau, series curator, is a New York–based playwright and translator originally from Montreal. She is the artistic director of The Arctic Cycle—an organization created to support the writing, development, and production of eight plays that examine the impact of climate change on the eight countries of the Arctic—and the founder of the blog Artists and Climate Change.

Alanna Mitchell is an award–winning Canadian journalist and author who writes about science and social trends. She is a global thinker who specializes in investigative reporting. Her most recent full-length book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis, is an international best seller that won the prestigious U.S.-based Grantham Prize for excellence in environmental journalism. Her one-woman play based on that book was nominated for a Dora award and she is performing it on a national tour.

Sarah Cameron Sunde is a New York–based director who collaboratively creates interdisciplinary performances for the stage and beyond. She started directing while living in England in 1997 and was influenced by European traditions of expressionism and devising theater. She has directed several U.S. debut productions of plays by contemporary international master playwrights.

Tanja Beer is a leader in ecological design practice and has created more than 50 designs for a variety of theater companies and festivals in Australia and Europe. She has received numerous grants and awards and has taught subjects in Scenography, Performance Making, Sustainable Production, Design Research, Ecological Design, and Climate Change at numerous universities in Australia and around the world. Her work was recently selected for the British contingent of the 2015 Prague Quadrennial and will be exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Marte Røyeng, based in Norway, is a musician, songwriter, and composer. She is part of the group Scenelusa Productions, which produces theater projects with children and youth, encouraging them to engage in their world through art.

Jeremy Pickard, based in New York, works with Superhero Clubhouse, a collective of artists and environmental advocates working at the intersection of science and theater. 

Jennifer Sokolove, based in Redwood City, California, manages The Compton Foundation’s grant making programs in environment, peace, and reproductive health, and represents the Foundation in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities.